Self-closing flush-receptacle plate.



H. HUBBBLL. SELF CLOSING FLUSH REGEPTAGLE PLATE.

.MPLIOATION FILED 1120.13, 1909.

Patented June 14, 1910.

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Afro/mfr HARVEY HUBBELL, OF BRIDGEPORT,' CONNECTICUT.

SELF-OLOSING? FLUSH-RECEPTACLE PLATE.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it' known that I', HARVEY HUBBELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement in Self-Closing'Flush-Receptacle Plates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a cover plate for Hush receptacles, so called, the opening in which shall be provided with a two-member self-closing cover having the usual hole for the electrical connections or for the neck of an attachment plug, the essential feature being that the "cover will remain closed whether or not an attachment plug is in place therein and Without regard to the position o'i the receptacle, the cover remaining closed equally well whether the receptacle is used in a floor, a Wall or a ceiling.

In order to accomplish the desired result l have devised the novel self-closing flush receptacle plate which I will-now describe, referring to the accompanying drawing 'forming a part of this specification and using reference characters several parts.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my self-closing plate,I Fig. 2 an inverted plan view thereof; Fig. 3 a view part-ly in vertical section and partly in elevation, illustrating the operation of my novel plate; Figs. 4 and 5 are longitudinal sections, on an enlarged scale, illustrating the construction of the plate and the mode of forming the closing springs, one cover member being removed; and Fig. 6 s an inverted plan view, on an'enlarged scale, showing the construction and mode of attachment of the closing spring.

It is of course well understood that flush receptacle plates cover a pocket in a wall, Hoor or ceiling, in which is placed the iiXed portion of an attachment plug and which is adapted to receive' the separable portion thereof.

l0 denotes theixed portion and 1l the separable portion of an attachment plug.

l2 denotes the plate as a whole which is shown as attached by means of screws 13 to brackets 14 which extend from and are rigidly secured to the fixed portion of the attachment plug. rlhe separable portion of the plug is ordinarily provided with a neck 15 to which the electrical connections, indicated by 16, are attached. lThe plate is proto indicate the Specification of Letters Patent.

Annlication filed December 13, 1909.

lwith transverse holes 25.

rammed amie ia, ioio.

Serial No. 532,873.

vided with a central opening 17 which is provided with a shoulder 18 against which corresponding members 19, which'comprise the cover, rest in the closed position. On opposite sides of opening 17 are angular en largements 20 of said opening,'said enlargements receiving the attaching portions of the cover members. Each of the cover members is provided with a semi-circular recess 21 shownA as beveled on the underside, the two recesses together forming a hole through which the electrical connections pass and which may or may not receive .the neck of the separable portion of an attachment plug. The attachment of the cover members to the plate is as follows: Each cover member is provided with antangular portion 22 which fits within the corresponding enlargement of the opening in the plate. At the center of each'angular portion on the under side is a depression 23, on opposite sides of which are bearing portions 24 which are provided In alinement with holes 25 are grooves 26 in the under side of the plate.

27 denotes hinge Arods which pass through depressions 23 and the bearing portions andthe ends of which lie in the grooves in the under side of the plate'.

28 denotes a double coil spring formed from a piece of wire whichl is bent upon itself at its mid-length to form a loop 29. From the loop the wire ofi the spring is coiled in opposite directions inclosing the hinge rod, the coils extending through holes 25 in bearing portions 24 and the ends of the'piece of wire being bent outward and lying parallel with the hinge rod, as at 30. The hinge rod and. the ends of the spring are rigidly secured in place in the platev in any suitable manner as by striking in the metal of the plate upon opposite sides of the groovesl and swaging it down tightly upon the hinge rod and -upon the ends 30 of the spring, Vas at 32. The spring action is secured by bending loop 29 from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 5, the end of the loop being bent down upon the hinge rod and spring arms 31 be ing formed which bear against the under side of the cover member back of the hinge rod and are connected to the opposite coils. The action of the spring arms and the coils is to lift the rear ends of angular portions 22 of the cover members upward and consequently to throw the forward ends of the cover members downward against the shoulder surrounding the central;` opening in the plate.

Thev operation will be obvious from the drawing: The spring arms and coils normally retain the cover members in the closed pxsition, as clearly shown. To insert the separable portion of an attachment plug the tions and for the neckof theseparable por.-

tion of an attachmentplugshould it extend outward far, enough., To remove thel sepa rable portion'of an attachment plug, it is simply requiredv to pull it o1't.by means of the -electrical connections, the. cover members yielding and permitting the plug'to' be pulled out. and being returned to place by vthe springs as soon as the plug is removed Having thus described my invention I claim 'tions corresponding with the enlargements,

said angular portions having depressions and bearing ortions on opposite sides thereof, hinge ro s passing through the bearing portions and lying 1n the depressions and grooves andsprings coiled about the hinge rods7 -extending through the bearing' portions and having central portions -bent tol form angle arms which bear upon the under sides of-f the cover members and ends lying parallel with thehinge yrods and securedJ in place, whereby the coverA members are retained in the closed position.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

l HARVEY HUBBELL. lVitnesses A. M. Woosrnn,

lV. A'rnnlz'ioN. 

